Sharp noses on boards - why ?

[chrisb]

Like all the others I was horrified to read about clif's injury. I hope he makes a full and complete recovery.

This raises 2 obvious questions:-

1. Do pointy nosed boards perform any differently to a round nosed board that is identical in every other respect ? IMHO I would say "no" because the nose is out of the water.

2. If performance is the same, why do manufacturers persist in making pointy nose boards and how can we stop it ?

[Shaunm]

Seen some boards like our "Silky" Irish mate got from SDS which have the points "squared" off, looks more dangerous to me.
Thought the pointier nose may help with duckdiving and other stuff????

[Longygrom]

how rounded do you mean? Like longboard round nose or rocket fish style?

And yes it does make a sigfnicant difference, but i dont have the exact facts to back this up. ric_vidal will

[Shaunm]

I've riden a 6'6 fish 3" thick and nose shaped like a Mal, my daughter rides it well, but for me it handles lika battle ship. Prefer the 6'8 Webber or the 9'1 mal

[The Dan]

wouldnt a round nose help if u dig on a turn?

[SAsurfers]

A old mate of mine got his eye completely taken out by a surfboard nose. He now has a glass eye but poor bugger doesnt have an eye for the rest of his life now! My tuflite has a kindve rounded nose but i dont think it affects it at all.

edit- i just read clifs thread and realised he had the same thing happen! hes lucky to get his eye back!

[tootr]

IMO about 90/10 cosmetics vs functionality if we're talking about 'standard' surfboards for the average purchaser....

on 99% of these boards you could lop the top inch ot two off and have a semi rounded nose and no net effect on performance, but, it looks 'uncool' for the fashion concious....

[ether]

My understanding is that it's fashion. I can recall a couple of times previously when people have suffered serious eye injuries and there's been a call to get rid of pointed noses on boards. Shapers have come out and said that there isn't a design requirement for them, just a dangerous fashion preference.

Any shapers here who can clarify whether there is a utility value to the point?

[ric_vidal]

how rounded do you mean? Like longboard round nose or rocket fish style?

And yes it does make a sigfnicant difference, but i dont have the exact facts to back this up. ric_vidal will

Dropped me in it Longy
Let’s talk shortboards as I think that was Clif’s weapon of choice. An emphatic NO, I don’t think a pointy nose is much beyond cosmetic. The reality is you can radius the nose so it isn’t a lethal weapon. It’s just a matter of determining what is realistic, I’ve done a few with about a 20mm radius (maybe less) something along these lines and I can’t see how it would effect performance. Not sure I would want to get hit by it either, but I also wouldn’t want to get hit in the eye with a board with a noseguard on it.

It is only if, as Longy was questioning, you had some radical rounded off nose that it would start influencing the balance of the board for want of a better description.

[Grooter]

I have a 6ft 10 board in the garage with a super pointy nose. I haven't ridden it in 5 years because one day I nearly skewered some little kid with it. Decided at that point that I didn't want to hurt anyone else or myself.

Needing a new board and one being a bit more user friendly I opted for an NSP 7ft 6 with a nice rounded nose.

After hearing about what has happened to Cliff I'll never ride it again (or put it up for sale either) it's too dangerous.

Maybe there is a compromise somewhere along the line going for a rounded nose but I haven't noticed and even if did, I'd happily live with it anyway.

[The Oracle]

[quote="Hatchman"]I have a 6ft 10 board in the garage .... I'll never ride it again


Can I have it - I PROMISE I'll never take it anywhere near the ocean.....

[Grooter]

Nah mate I believe in karma, you'll probably stuff it into my back!

[morrisey]

Stupid thread. People are always walkin in front of cars, should we start making cars out of cardboard? :?

[BA]

After hearing about what has happened to Cliff I'll never ride it again (or put it up for sale either) it's too dangerous.

Talk about an over reaction. Gotta agree with Morrisey here. I feel really sorry for Clif, but it was an accident.

How many people do you truly know that have had this happen. Truthfully, you probably know none. Yes it does happen, as evidenced by Clif, but not as often as it could. How many people are out on any given day, and how many get stabbed by sharp noses. Feck all given the big scheme of things.

Yes, surfing is a dangerous sport. If you can't handle the risks, don't do it. In 30 years of surfing I've had no major injuries. Neither have any of my surfing mates. Maybe I've just been lucky, but I doubt it.

[Carbon]

Stupid thread. People are always walkin in front of cars, should we start making cars out of cardboard? :?

no, would never happen. In this instance we can make a change... all while you sit on your rear end

[matt...]

Stupid thread. People are always walkin in front of cars, should we start making cars out of cardboard? :?

no, would never happen. In this instance we can make a change... all while you sit on your rear end

imagine you are surfing a remote island / offshore reef break at 6 foot with:
sharp reef
sharks in the water
sea snakes in the water, too
no medical assistance for days
powerful waves

do you think a pointy nose would make a difference?

BAN car racing - cos it's dangerous
BAN loud music cos it makes you deaf (what??)
BAN wanking cos you'll go blind...

[CaT_SPeW]

Stupid thread. People are always walkin in front of cars, should we start making cars out of cardboard? :?

no, would never happen. In this instance we can make a change... all while you sit on your rear end

imagine you are surfing a remote island / offshore reef break at 6 foot with:
sharp reef
sharks in the water
sea snakes in the water, too
no medical assistance for days
powerful waves

do you think a pointy nose would make a difference?

BAN car racing - cos it's dangerous
BAN loud music cos it makes you deaf (what??)
BAN wanking cos you'll go blind...

its about minimising the risks, you cant control the sharks, waves or reefs but you can control getting stabbed in the eye with your board.

[BA]

But you can minimise the risk by not surfing over sharp reef, in known shark-infested waters etc. Your arguement does't stack up.